Supreme Court Lets States Use Citizenship Database to Check Voter Rolls Weeks Before Midterms

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In an unsigned opinion, the court held that the federal government has an obligation to respond to state requests to verify voters' citizenship, and that the lower court's order blocking DHS from using SAVE "inhibits the Federal Government's efforts" to properly administer the midterms. All six conservative justices backed the move; the three liberal justices publicly dissented.

The opinion emphasized the program should be used for "individualized" inquiries and cautioned states that federal law still bars systematic voter-roll purges within 90 days of a federal election, making sweeping removals before Election Day unlawful.

SAVE was created in 1986 to verify immigration status for public benefits. A March 2025 Trump executive order expanded it by linking Social Security data, enabling bulk searches by name, date of birth, and Social Security number. DC District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan blocked the expanded system in June on privacy grounds; an appeals court left that block in place until the Supreme Court paused it Friday.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned in dissent that "the harm caused by burdening or disenfranchising even a few lawful voters outweighs the nonexistent harm" to the government. The underlying lawsuit continues; Friday's order only lifts the injunction while litigation proceeds.

The ruling lands as the White House simultaneously tightens press access — CNN was excluded from Air Force One pool duties for Trump's Saturday trip — making election-integrity debates a central midterm battleground.